UPC Wind, a leading North American wind power company, announced that it has received final approval from the Maine Land Use Regulation Commission (LURC) on its 57 megawatt (MW) Stetson Wind Project in Washington County, Maine.
During the review process by LURC, UPC Wind highlighted a number of positive factors for the approved project site on Stetson Mountain including that 1) the ridge has an excellent wind resource; 2) there is no residential property currently closer than 2,500 feet; 3) there will be minimal environmental impacts on the ridge as there are existing roads in place previously used for logging that can be utilized during construction with only minor enhancements; and 4) roughly one-third of the needed transmission lines will be in the same right-of-way (ROW) as existing electric lines.
The Stetson Wind Project has received support from leading environmental groups such as Maine Audubon, Natural Resource Council, Appalachian Mountain Club and Conservation Law Foundation. In addition, the project has also garnered regional endorsements from local officials and groups including the Washington County Commissioners and the Sunrise County Economic Council. Recently, the Maine Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD) also approved tax increment financing (TIF) for the project, a first for an unorganized territory in Maine.
Upon completion, the Stetson Wind Project will consist of 38 state-of-the-art GE 1.5 MW wind turbines and produce approximately 150 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) of clean electricity annually – enough to power about 27,500 homes per year.
Generating this amount of electricity using oil and gas would emit 107,500 metric tons of pollutants; the Stetson Wind Project will emit no pollutants.
About UPC Wind
UPC Wind is based in Newton, Massachusetts, with offices in Maine, Vermont, New York, Pennsylvania, California, Oregon and Hawaii. UPC Wind is an American-owned company, with a proven track record of developing, owning and operating well-sited, community-friendly wind farms that increase energy independence.
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